Graduation Date
Fall 2018
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Natural Resources, option Fisheries
Committee Chair Name
Tim Mulligan
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Joe Tyburczy
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Tim Bean
Third Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Rockfish, Collaborative fisheries research, Maxent
Subject Categories
Fisheries
Abstract
Black rockfish (Sebastes melanops), canary rockfish (S. pinniger), and lingcod (Ophidion elongatus) are important species in Northern California’s nearshore recreational and commercial fisheries. These species are associated with nearshore rocky reefs and are among a suite of species intended to benefit from the establishment of the marine protected area (MPA) network along the Northern California Coast in 2012.
Many aspects of the North Coast’s nearshore ecosystem remain poorly studied, including the spatial distribution and habitat associations of nearshore fish species. This study used data collected from Cape Mendocino State Marine Reserve (SMR), Ten Mile SMR, and paired, nearby reference sites to investigate the habitat associations of black rockfish, canary rockfish, and lingcod on the North Coast by generating Maxent habitat suitability models for each species.
This study showed black rockfish associated with high relief, rocky habitat, less than ~30 meters in depth, lingcod associated with rocky habitat, independent of relief, deeper than 20 meters, and canary rockfish associated with high relief rocky habitat, deeper than ~35 meters. The findings of this study also investigated and supported the findings of a previous study that found canary rockfish associated with the edge of rocky reef and sandy habitats.
Maxent modeling can increase manager’s understanding of the habitat used by marine fishes and inform the establishment of MPAs, designation of Essential Fish Habitat, and regional catch limits by identifying where habitat might support more productive populations, especially for poorly studied stocks.
Citation Style
Chicago Manual of Style
Recommended Citation
Kelmartin, Ian D., "Characterizing habitat preference in three nearshore reef-associated fishes through collaborative research, public data, and open source software" (2018). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 209.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/209